SimCity 64 (Import)

Share.

How about some more of what you can't have? First movies of Sim City on the 64DD.

By IGN Staff

Considering the popularity of simulation games like SimCity or Civilization, it's a surprise that the genre is virtually non-existent on the N64. Well, perhaps it's not a complete surprise. Nintendo Co. Ltd (Japan) seems to have a knack for ignoring some of the most popular genres, leaving Japanese N64 owners with a great lineup of platformers, racers, mah-jongg games, and big-head baseball titles, but no RPGs, fighters, or sim games. Thankfully, with the advent of the 64DD (disk drive add-on), this is all about to change.

Nintendo's take on SimCity for the 64DD, previewed in near finished form at Nintendo's Spaceworld '99 earlier this week, seems to be progressing well. The game, not to be confused with Imagineer's cartridge-based SimCity 2000, features fully polygonal environments and makes use of the plug-in architecture of the 64DD.

The premise behind Sim City 64 is not new. Players are required to manage a full-blown city successfully. Like in Maxis' original Sim City series, the gameplay in Sim City 64 is very complex. In the role of the city mayor, players basically build their own city from scratch, constructing streets, residential areas, factories, ports, and business districts, raise land, and even put down the electric wiring. But physical city planning is only half the game. SimCity 64 enables gamers to micromanage everything, right down to school education and taxes. To make things a little more interesting, there are some unpredictable happenings that even the best mayor can't prevent: Earthquakes, fires, floods, and monster attacks, to name just a few. Being able to quickly respond to potential catastrophies and crisis situations is a key to success and survival.

The 64DD version of Sim City 64 offers more customization options than ever before through interactivity with other 64DD software. That's right, Sim City 64 works in conjunction with Mario Artist and Camera. Using the art program, players can create their own characters and import them into the crowded environment of Sim City 64.

Although players construct their city from an overhead or isometric perspective, everything can be viewed in 3D, directly from the city streets. The camera zooms down into the fully polygonal city for a broader, up-close view of the action. From here, players may choose to interact with the environment and computer characters. The near final version of the game at Nintendo's Spaceworld was weighed down with some heavy framerate drops in this up-close, zoomed-in mode. Considering the fact that this game has been development for years and was supposed to help showcase the power of 64DD, we were not impressed.

Outlook: Sim City 64 is a promising take on the beloved simulation franchise. The game's strategic, intelligent managing system and the fact that players can import their own created characters from Mario Artist and Camera, is sure to keep anticipation of the title high. Unfortunately though, the game's graphics engine ¿ especially when zoomed in on the polygonal cities ¿ shows its age with a fair amount of slowdown.

A lot of intriguing innovations, but is it all too little too late?

There are currently no plans to bring the 64DD-only Sim City 64 to the US.